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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Vatican
City, 19 September 2013 (VIS) – At midday, in the Sala Clementina
of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father received in audience
the recently appointed bishops who will participate in the congress
organised by the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for
the Eastern Churches.

Francis
encouraged the bishops, in the words of St. Peter, to “tend the
flock of God that is in your charge”, and reminded them that “we
are called and made Shepherds not by ourselves, but by the Lord, and
not to serve ourselves, but rather to serve the flock entrusted to
our care, to serve to the extent of offering our lives, like Christ,
the Good Shepherd”.

The
Pope asked what it means to “tend”, to have “ habitual and
daily care” of the flock.

“Three
thoughts arise from this”, he explained. First, the importance of
welcoming with generosity: “Your heart must be large enough to be
able to welcome all the men and women you meet during your days and
whom you will seek out as you walk your parishes and your
communities”.

Secondly,
to accompany the flock: “to walk alongside the faithful and all
those who turn to you, sharing joys and hopes, difficulties and
suffering, as brothers and friends, but even more so as fathers, who
are able to listen, to understand, to help and to orientate”.
Francis urged the bishops not to forget the affection they hold for
their priests, who are those “closest to the bishop”, who mix
with the faithful, who have the “smell of their sheep”, and
reminded them to be humble, austere and essential in the service of
their flock. “We shepherds are not men with the psychology of
princes – ambitious men, who espouse this Church while awaiting
another, more beautiful and richer. But this is a scandal! Imagine
that a man confesses, saying, 'I am married and I live with my wife,
but I continually look at a woman who is more beautiful than her; is
this a sin, Father?' The Gospel tells us that this is the sin of
adultery. Is there such thing as 'spiritual adultery'? I don't know,
think about it yourselves. Do not await another more beautiful, more
important, richer Church. Do not fall into the trap of careerism! It
is a form of cancer!”

Finally,
Francis referred to the importance of staying with the flock: the
stability of remaining in the diocese without seeking change or
promotion. He urged the bishops as far as possible to avoid being
absent from their diocese, and if unavoidable, to do so for the
shortest period possible and not on a regular basis. “Espouse your
community, be profoundly bonded to it! I beg you, please, to stay
among your people. … Avoid the scandal of being 'airport bishops'!”
Francis urged the bishops to welcome their people “with affection,
with mercy, with fatherly gentleness and firmness, with humility and
with discretion; know how to recognise your limits, and have a good
dose of humour”.

Vatican
City, 19 September 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Vatican
Apostolic Palace the Holy Father Francesco received in audience the
prime minister of the Republic of Lithuania, Algirdas Butkevicius,
who subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State
Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., accompanied by Archbishop Dominique
Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

During
the course of the colloquial discussions, the parties acknowledged
the good relations between the Holy See and the Republic of
Lithuania, and focused in particular on the contribution offered
throughout the centuries by the Catholic Church in educational and
social fields, as well as her commitment to the support of families
and to improving awareness of spiritual values.

In
view of the fact that the Republic of Lithuania currently holds the
presidency of the Council of the European Union, the discussions
turned to various international and European matters of mutual
interest. Special mention was made of the need to ensure peace in the
Middle East and in particular in Syria, favouring a political
solution to the crisis through dialogue and negotiation.

Vatican
City, 19 September 2013 (VIS) – Cardinal Secretary of State
Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. has sent a telegram, in the name of the Holy
Father, to Cardinal Francisco Jose Robles Ortega, archbishop of
Guadalajara, Mexico and president of the Conference of the Mexican
Episcopate, on the subject of Hurricane Ingrid and the tropical storm
Manuel which has claimed 55 lives and left over 8000 people homeless.

“His
Holiness Pope Francesco, profoundly saddened by news of the dramatic
consequences of Hurricane Ingrid and the tropical storm Manuel in
this beloved nation, claiming victims, causing injuries and countless
damage to property, and leaving many families homeless, raises
fervent prayers for the eternal repose of the deceased. He asks God
to grant consolation to the suffering and to encourage persons of
good will to show fraternal solidarity in helping to rebuild the
worst-affected areas and offering assistance to victims in their pain
and despair.

“The
Holy Father also wishes to convey his most heartfelt condolences to
the families of the departed and expresses his paternal care and
spiritual closeness to the injured and homeless. He entrusts them to
the maternal hands of Our Lady of Guadalupe and imparts the comfort
of an apostolic blessing as a sign of affection to the beloved
Mexican people, present in his heart as pastor of the Universal
Church at this painful time”.

Vatican
City, 19 September 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday morning a press
conference was held in the Holy See Press Office during which
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for
the Promoting New Evangelisation, presented the “Day for
Catechists” which will take place on 28 and 29 September, preceded
by the International Congress for Catechists, an initiative forming
part of the Year of Faith. Also participating in the press conference
were Archbishop Jose Octavio Ruiz Arenas and Msgr. Graham Bell,
respectively secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New
Evangelisation, and under-secretary of the same dicastery.

“Among
the competencies of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New
Evangelisation, since its inception charged with the promotion of the
Catechism of the Catholic Church, jurisdiction over all the
catechesis has recently been added”, said Archbishop Fisichella.
“This is a considerable task, especially if we consider the strong
bond, from the time of the Council, between catechesis and
evangelisation, the former serving as a kind of qualificatory stage
of the latter”.

He
announced the launch, in the coming weeks, of a free application for
tablets and smartphones, “Catechism of the Catholic Church”,
which “will allow users to have to hand both the Catechism of the
Catholic Church and the Compendium, and will enable easy consultation
of the texts and biblical references, and a search facility for the
terms in question and reference texts, with the possibility of
sharing them via Facebook, Twitter, and other sites”.

“The
first part of this event will be dedicated to the International
Council for Catechesis, which will take place on 25 September. The
task of this Council will be the study of the most important
questions of catechesis to favour a unitary service for the Episcopal
Conferences and to enable an exchange of experiences. The Council,
instituted by Paul VI in 1973, was renewed on 1 October 2012 and its
first task will be to study the state of catechesis in the world
during this last decade, and to plan new commitments deriving from
its new link to evangelisation”.

This
will be followed by the International Congress for Catechesis which
will take place in the Paul VI Hall from 26 to 28 September and will
focus above all on the first part of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, on the theme of faith. During these days, which will see the
participation of a total of 1,600 people, made up of 104 delegations
from 50 countries, there will be presentations by speakers from
various academic centres. The culminating moment will be Pope Francis
catechesis at 5 p.m. on Friday, 27 September.

The
third stage in the event, from 28 to 29 September, will be dedicated
to pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Peter, and catechesis united to the
moment of the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance and
Reconciliation and Eucharistic Adoration. “Fourteen bishops will
offer the catechesis in various languages”, explained Archbishop
Fisichella. “Owing to the large number of participants, and to
reduce difficulties in the city, we have organised the catechesis in
the churches around St. Peter's, divided into linguistic groups; the
foreign language catecheses will take place in the morning, whereas
the Italian groups will be held in the afternoon. Many parishes and
centres are arranging to come to Rome autonomously in those days. …
The Pope will celebrate the Holy Eucharist on Sunday at 10.30 p.m.,
which will be followed by the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square”.

“The
event in its entirety will take as its theme, 'The catechist, witness
of faith'. Many, indeed, are called to take on the great
responsibility in this phase of the transmission of the faith, and
know that the witness of life is the most meaningful element in the
credibility of their mission”.

-
appointed Fr. Pedro Ramiro Lopez, I.V.E., as the ecclesiastical
Superior of the Missio sui iuris of Tajikistan (area 143,100,
population 7,477,000, Catholics 350, priests 4, religious 12). Fr.
Ramiro Lopez was born in San Rafael, Argentina in 1978 and was
ordained a priest in 2003. He succeeds Fr. Carlos Avila, of the
Institute of the Incarnate Word, whose resignation from the same
office was accepted by the Holy Father.